The Fountain Theatre's production of Gem of the
Ocean is so good, it makes you think that this play is
August Wilson's masterpiecethe best of his ten-play
cycle about the African American experience in the twentieth
century. Although written second-to-last, this play takes
place first, in 1904. And while it provides a starting
point for certain threads that show up throughout the cycle,
Gem of the Ocean is a powerful piece of theatre that
stands on its own.

1904not all that long ago in terms of history, but a
time when the older generations remember living under
slavery. Indeed, while the abolition of slavery had made
its way into the U.S. Constitution nearly 40 years earlier,
freedom wasn't so firmly established that there weren't
rumblings of repeal. Blacks in Southern States lived under
Jim Crow laws, facing segregation and discrimination. Even
in Northern States, available jobs paid wages that were
insufficient to cover the costs of room and board, leaving
many in a state of near servitude.

But Gem of the Ocean isn't a dry history lesson.
It's about true characters, beautifully drawn, that make you
feel the injustice and care about what happens to them.
Take Solly Two Kings, a former slave who became a conductor
on the Underground Railroad, helping many others in finding
their way to freedom. But Solly has no medal to show for
having risked his life and freedom for others, and no
comfortable retirement either; instead, Solly makes a living
by gathering and selling dog shit. This is a grown man, an
honorable man, who is reduced to selling dog droppings
door-to-door. But Adolphus Ward gives us a Solly who never
feels like he's "reduced" to anything. He feels no shame in
what he does, just as he feels no extraordinary pride for
what he did. He's a good, decent man, who will still head
South to help a relative who needs him. "What good is
freedom," asks Solly, "if you can't do nothing with it?"

And Solly isn't the lead of the piecehe's simply one
of several perfectly realized characters that inhabit this
world into which we are drawn. The younger generation is
represented by Citizen Barlow. He was named "Citizen" by
his mother "after freedom came," but his inability to see
beyond himself keeps him from being a citizen of any
community. When he thinks he's wronged, he takes action.
When he thinks he's wronged another, he takes action to make
himself feel better. However, Keith Arthur Bolden isn't
just playing the angry young man in Citizen Barlow; Bolden
connects with a likeable earnestness in the character which,
in some ways, makes the entire play possible.

Because the action in Gem of the Ocean begins when
Citizen Barlow needs to see Aunt Ester. He's been told that
Aunt Ester can cleanse souls, and he's got a soul that needs
some cleansing. Aunt Ester is the spiritual glue that holds
the play together. Timeless (she claims to be 285 years
old, but this production gives the impression that "Aunt
Ester" is more of a title than an actual name), wise,
cherished and practical, Aunt Ester immediately sets the
temperature of the room wherever she goes. Juanita Jennings
is all this and more as Aunt Ester. She has the beloved
grandmotherly quality of the character down pat, and she
also has the presence to dominate every scene in
which she appears.

Aunt Ester welcomes Citizen Barlow, and doesn't judge him
when he says he killed a manbecause Aunt Ester's unique
talent is helping people judge themselves. In the second
act, the play goes a bit surreal as Aunt Ester takes
Citizen Barlow on a mystical journey to heal himself. In
the hands of lesser actors, or a director with less vision
than Ben Bradley, Gem of the Ocean could be two
different playsthe living history lesson of African
Americans of different ages and economic levels trying to
make their way; and the unsettling dreamscape of Citizen
Barlow's journey. But Bradley brings it all together in one
sweeping theatrical whole. It's August Wilson's brilliant
poetry and philosophy of the common man; it's history and
your place in it; it's what you do with the hand you're
dealt and what your responsibility might be to the other
players. And it is a masterpiece.

Gem of the Ocean continues at the Fountain Theatre
through December 21, 2008. For tickets and information, see
www.fountaintheatre.com.